The Edge
by ExpectedAberrance
Summary: In the midst of a war-plagued seventh year, Harry makes a tiny mistake...Warning: Here be Dragons
1. Responsibility, What's That?

The Edge  
  
by  
  
Expected Aberrance  
  
Disclaimer: If I owned them, would I work at Rite Aid?  
  
This is my first HP fic. Please be gentle.

Chapter 1: Responsibility, What's That?

* * *

"When I find my wand, Potter, I am going to kill you. Slowly."  
  
Malfoy. Prat. Gods I'm cold. I can't see a bloody thing. Are my eyes open?  
  
"Shut it, wanker. Ron? Are you there?"  
  
Harry?  
  
"Mmmph."  
  
I think my jaw is frozen shut.  
  
"And this would be the perfect place to hide the body, wouldn't it-"  
  
Does he ever shut up?  
  
"-because we're in the middle of bloody nowhere-"  
  
"Shove it up sideways!"  
  
Ow. Did anyone catch the name of that bludger?  
  
"-because the great Harry overly-hyphenated-Boy-Who-Lived-Despite-All-His-Efforts-to-the-Contrary Potter-"  
  
"Shut it or I do it for you!"  
  
I think I can move my arms. Can't feel my legs yet. Let's try pushing up ... just a bit more ... there.   
  
Bugger. Now all I see is white.  
  
"Try it Potter!"  
  
"Sod off!"  
  
Head for the sound of fist hitting flesh-  
  
"Arse pustule popping-"  
  
"Rat-cock sucking-"  
  
Yes! Black and white. An improvement. Black tree shapes, black hill shapes, now the black blur with black hair   
  
and glasses must be-  
  
"Harry! Over here!"  
  
"Ron?"  
  
Close enough to make out Harry's face, and Malfoy's evil grin behind him as he-  
  
"Harry! Look out!"  
  
Oops. Ouch. Bloody Slytherin never miss a chance to hit a bloke in the back. Merlin, this snow must   
  
be at least three feet deep. Almost there-  
  
"Shite-for-brains!"  
  
"Flobberworm piss!"  
  
Close enough now to hit Malfoy in that ugly sneer of a face-  
  
"Go bugger the blast end of a skrewt!"  
  
"Fuck off, Weasel!"  
  
"Get him, Ron!"  
  
"Of course it takes two of you bloody Gryffindor imbeciles to do anything!"  
  
"Right, as if surgery wasn't necessary to remove the sorry sacks of lard you call sidekicks!"  
  
"Hold him still!"  
  
"Get off me!"  
  
Slippery bastard. Got his legs-  
  
"Give in yet, Malfoy?"  
  
"You wish!"  
  
Merlin's man-tits, that hurt!  
  
"Pin his arms!"  
  
"Watch out, the wanker bites!"  
  
"Ogre-dung-eating-"  
  
Ha! Try talking with snow shoved in your gob-  
  
"Got him!"  
  
"Sit on him!"  
  
"Bet you dreamed of this, Potter!"  
  
Bugger. He managed to spit the snow out. At least he won't be moving for awhile.  
  
"Shut it! How are you, Ron?"  
  
"Aside from freezing my assets off, just fine. You?"  
  
"Same. Do you have your wand?"  
  
Fuck.  
  
"No. Do you?"  
  
"Bloody hell. No I don't."  
  
"Brilliant, the both of you. Have you checked for them up your arses yet?"  
  
"Who asked you? And I don't see you with a bloody wand, either!"  
  
"Where are we?"  
  
"Shouldn't you know, Potter? You're the one who opened the bloody orb."  
  
"You're saying this is my fault?"  
  
"Oh, no. I'm not saying that our sudden trip to this icy barren Hell is your fault.   
  
And neither are the strange absences of our esteemed Potions professor and the Hairy   
  
Brain portion of your trio."  
  
"Where's Hermione?"  
  
"Quick one, aren't you Weasel? And I suppose the two dragons over there are merely a   
  
coincidence."  
  
What? Where in Merlin's great back hair-  
  
"Bugger me..."  
  
Double bugger. The big black mountain shapes are breathing.   
  
"What did you tell it to do, Harry?"  
  
"Yes, Potter. What indeed?"  
  
"I- I don't remember."  
  
"One black and one red. I wonder which is which. Very original, Scarboy."  
  
The smaller one does appear to be Gryffindor red-  
  
"You think one of those is Hermione?"  
  
"We have a NEWT-level logician here!"  
  
"Is being overly sarcastic a requirement for Slytherins, or just arse-wipes in general?"  
  
"Seriously Harry, what did you do?"  
  
"I told you, I don't remember!"  
  
"Will you let me up now? I'm beginning to think you're enjoying this..."  
  
"Don't try jumping us again."  
  
"I'll try to resist the overwhelming temptation."  
  
Slimy blond snake. Here's a chance to look around at least. God's it's cold.   
  
Nothing but the dragon-lumps and a few dead trees for as far as I can see. Without wands,   
  
we're buggered.  
  
"What's the last thing you remember?"  
  
"A bright, white light-"  
  
"So helpful."  
  
"You do better!"  
  
"Fine then. I distinctly remember you three yet again buggering everything up by butting in where   
  
your heroic idiocy was not wanted-"  
  
"Hang on! What were you and Snape doing with the orb?"  
  
"Like I'd tell you."  
  
"Malfoy-"  
  
"Ron! Don't. Move."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
Strange. My back feels very warm. Perhaps if I just turn around slowly-  
  
"Merlin's giant bearded-"  
  
end chapter 1. :doing tapdances for feedback: Should I continue? Is this interesting?   
  
Constructive criticism doted upon!   
  
Thanks for reading! 


	2. Big Brat

Big Brat  
  
It was all his fault,  
  
Introduced me to knowitall  
  
And the cannibal  
  
Oh, well...  
  
By the time they started showing up,  
  
I ran the risk of blowing up These times, these times get tough  
  
So if i stay we're going to see who's had enough  
  
By the time i needed backing up,  
  
Ya he was watching, cracking up  
  
This time, this time it's tough  
  
Well here I am and now and I think I've had enough  
  
Stand back Take that and that and that  
  
You're always up to no good  
  
Ya you're always up to no good  
  
Well I was trapped in from all sides  
  
Caught in a slew of massive lies  
  
No, there is no escape, only flailing arms and bellyaches  
  
When it all started coming down, tonight, or did you run and hide?  
  
Well I guess that we all make mistakes, I guess I forgave you didn't I?  
  
Stand back  
  
You're such a big brat  
  
- "Big Brat" by Phantom Planet  
  
Dark and cold were the first sensations to greet Snape as his mind surfaced from slumber, His surroundings felt unfamiliar, the crisp scent of falling snow mingling with the smelt/heard presence of three males, human, directly upwind of him, making enough noise to cover the subtle approach of a forest troll. He tested his extremities one by one; arms, two, check; legs, two, check; tail-  
  
Tail?  
  
The orb lay on the table, almost complete. The final incantations awaited Draco's arrival, which should have been five minutes ago. Tardiness was a discourtesy common among Malfoys, the insufferable lot of them firm in the conviction that the world was made exclusively to suit their demands...  
  
The disturbance in the wards he set and the soft click of the opening door interrupted his musings, and he turned away from the large work-table in front of him in time to see the blond Slytherin enter the room, the door closing behind him. Snape watched, amused, as a disoriented Malfoy cast a low-level Lumos in an attempt to see in the pitch black room.  
  
"Were you followed?" Snape asked.  
  
Draco turned at the sound of his voice and squinted in his direction.  
  
"I don't think so. Would it have killed you to leave a light on?"  
  
"Apparently. Ready?"  
  
"Sure, fine, whatever."  
  
"Don't be impudent. You're wasting time." Snape left the desk and walked to the center of the small room.  
  
"Right, sorry sir," Draco's smirk disappeared as he walked toward Snape, stopping three feet from him.  
  
"Fide et fiducia." Snape had drawn his wand and waved it in a complex pattern before him, outlining a series of many-turned Moebius arcs in front of him in red.  
  
"Persta atque obdura." Draco answered the patterns, his wand encircling Snape's lines in silver.  
  
"Potius mori quam perfidia."  
  
"Consummatum est." The blending colors wreathed the two, flashing once before fading until only a circle on the floor around them remained.  
  
"What did you wish to speak with me about?"  
  
"You can't go tonight. He knows."  
  
"I have no choice, Draco. He will not trust you if I am absent, and He must if this is to work."  
  
"My father petitioned in my behalf for the...honor of killing you," Draco's voice wavered, he could no longer hold Snape's gaze.  
  
"Then mine is your Mark-blood?"  
  
"It won't be if you are not there."  
  
"I must be. We will not get another chance."  
  
"Whatever happened to the Slytherin code of self-preservation?" Draco's tone was light, but his eyes shone with bitterness and held-back tears.  
  
"I am prepared to sacrifice myself if it will mean His death. My place in this war demands it." Snape gently put a shaking hand on the young man's shoulder, the most outward sign of affection either was accustomed to.  
  
"You will be missed, sir." Draco's voice broke despite all his efforts to stay in control.  
  
"Draco-"  
  
A noise in the direction of the desk startled them. They turned to face- in Draco's case, for the second time in his life- the floating, bodiless head of Harry Potter. Snape was the faster of the two, aiming his drawn wand in the presumed direction of the rest of the-wizarding-world-savior-from-hell, muttering, "stupefy."  
  
Potter, anticipating the attack, ducked to one side, taking the rest of the invisibility cloak, and the orb, with him. The rest of the Gryffindor Trio appeared out of thin air to his right, wands ready. Draco raised his wand at Weasley.  
  
"Expelliarmus!" Before he could move out of the way, Weasley was thrown back against the desk. Granger retaliated, casting a quick rope bind on Draco before turning to Snape, who was trying to locate a once-again invisible Potter.  
  
"Epoximise!" Snape's lunge was halted mid-air as his feet stuck in place, and he cushioned his fall with his arms just before his nose would have been forced to undergo a rather rude introduction with the floor. He scrambled for his wand, which had fallen just out of his reach in the corner of the room.  
  
"Potter, you imbecile! Give me that!" Snape tore his feet from his useless shoes as Granger helped a dazed Weasley up. She turned toward Snape, but was not quick enough to prevent him from reaching his wand. He immobilized both Gryffindors with the same spell Granger had used, then turned his attention to Draco, struggling to free himself on the other side of the room.  
  
"Finite Incantem." With three of four issues resolved, Snape began to search for the remaining pain-in-the-arse. A soft shuffle to his left caught his attention.  
  
"Accio invisibility cloak!"  
  
But instead of revealing the-dunderhead-who-refused-to-expire, a blinding white light engulfed the room, holding for a few seconds before dissipating, taking the occupants' consciousness with it.  
  
Bloody fucking hell. Potter and Pals were very, very dead.  
  
He opened his eyes with not a small amount of dread. He was now blessed with a long, spiky, black snout, and large claws clenched in front of him where his hands should have been. He flexed his back experimentally, which moved the stretches of leathery skin and bone which had been protecting his head. And there was the tail, coiled around one of his back legs. If this did not justify murder, nothing would.  
  
He raised his head just enough to look in the direction of the squabbling boys. Two-thirds of the Potter troupe was sportingly attempting to beat the shit out of Draco. The Know-it-All was nowhere to be seen.  
  
He crept slowly through the snow in their direction, making not a sound until his stomach protested its emptiness. He noticed that the Weasley boy was closest. Fresh student was beginning to sound appetizing. It really wouldn't do much harm, he reasoned, seeing as Albus would still have his precious Potter and the other third of the Gryffindor Triumvirate. In fact, there were at least a half-dozen more Weasleys where that one came from, and it probably wouldn't take much encouragement for the over-breeding parents to pop out another of the nauseating red-haired little beasts...  
  
He was close now; the boys were too engrossed in arguing with each other to notice his approach. Should he swallow the boy whole, or bite him in half first? Damn, Potter had spotted him. Still, the fear he could smell on both of them would only add to the flavor. He grinned, showing off rows of impossibly-sharpened teeth, and gleefully taking in Weasley's pathetic expression of absolute terror as he stopped just short of the boy's frozen form. Let it sink in for a bit, count all the teeth that will shortly tear through flesh and bone indiscriminately- WHAM!  
  
A growling red mass slammed into his left side, throwing him away from the boys. He blindly clawed back at the form, trying to extract his head and neck from the snow bank into which he fallen. He managed to repel the beast with his hind legs just enough to take to the air in strategic retreat, his attacker quickly following. Now able to assess his opponent, he noticed that he had been ambushed by a (Gryffindor) red dragon, a bit smaller than him, which one part of his mind acknowledged as female and filed away the information for future reference. At the moment, he was more concerned with the sudden blast of flame she had aimed at his eyes. He twisted, allowing the fire to explode harmlessly on his side, and launched a counterstrike, attempting to pin her wings.  
  
They fought; biting, clawing, and blasting fire at each other through the air for what seemed an eternity, neither gaining the upper hand. He had a size and strength advantage, but her slighter frame maneuvered easier in flight. She would not evade him so easily on the ground.  
  
He was reviewing various modes of grounding her when he was shocked by a sudden lick, then bite, in a VERY sensitive place. The dragon-half of his mind patted itself on the back, proud of its apparent irresistibleness, while the human half stuttered incoherently. She took advantage of his incapacitation by sending him snout-first in the same snow bank he had earlier freed himself from. He managed to lift himself out of the snow enough to witness the red dragon land next to Potter, pick him up in one giant paw, gaze calculatingly at him for a few seconds, then, with great care, singe the Boy-Who-Lived-Only-To- Be-a-Human-Hemorrhoid's eyebrows clean off. 


	3. Richard Allen George No, It's Just Cheez

Richard Allen George...No, It's Just Cheez  
  
Disclaimer: Nope, I still haven't got them.  
  
"Harry, this is idiotic. You know Snape's part of the order! Why in Merlin's name are you suspecting him of anything?"  
  
"He and Malfoy are up to something. I know it!"  
  
"Really Harry. After six and a half years of saving your behind, you think Snape is going to suddenly concoct a plan to bring about your demise that involves sneaking around at all hours of the night with Malfoy in tow? I seriously doubt it."  
  
"Then explain what he's doing with that orb thing. It has to be a weapon of some sort!"  
  
"Remember the noodle incident? Didn't you promise not to accuse Snape of anything without absolute proof last year?"  
  
"How was I supposed to know? That wasn't my fault! Anyway, I know this thing is important. I've seen it before." s "Voldemort?"  
  
"He's been trying to get it for months. And now Snape and Malfoy mysteriously turn up with it? We have to get it from them."  
  
"Gods, Harry! Fine. Let's go. But for the record, I'm only doing this so that you don't make an even bigger arse of yourself than last time."  
  
"'Mione?"  
  
Aaahh. The sweet smell of burning eyebrow curled around her sensitive nostrils. Harry should have received that rather subtle hint that he was not everyone's Wonderboy at the moment. Nothing conveyed mild irritation better than the forcible removal of hair in embarrassing places. And now he had an expression of perpetual clueless-ness and confusion that rivaled Ron's. Oops. There was a spark left in one of his bangs, necessitating the extinguish-in-snow-face-first method of course, which she dutifully applied without hesitation.  
  
"Ow!"  
  
Hope that didn't hurt. Much.  
  
A deep rumbling to her left drew her attention away from the hapless Boy Wonder to the singularly bizarre spectacle of the large black dragon, flames spewing mirthfully from both nostrils and open mouth, rolling about the snow in- laughter? Was that Snape? Laughing? She couldn't decide which was stranger; the fact that the man who she had thought of as so uptight that any sort of levity would painfully expel the Hippogriff he had stuck up his arse was expressing true positive human emotion, or that she could hear his natural voice chuckling along with the grunting dragon giggles.  
  
Apparently the sight captured the boys' attention as well, as they had switched from gaping in shock at the makeover flambé to gaping in shock at their transfigured professor. She let Harry fall to the ground as gently as she felt able, under the circumstances. His jaw remained slacked open in the process. At least Harry and Ron were gaping; Draco had the largest slimy grin she had ever seen on him.  
  
"I never thought I'd be saying this, but congratulations, Granger. That made this descent into Hades almost worth it."  
  
She growled a polite "thank you," then turned back to Snape, who was trying with limited success to regain some semblance of self-control. He managed to sit back on his hind legs, wiping tears from his eyes that steamed at impact with the snow.  
  
Fifty points to Gryffindor, Ms. Granger.  
  
That confirmed it. He had definitely cracked. At least he was momentarily distracted from her earlier actions, the consequences of which she knew would be dire indeed. Though she had a very good reason for doing so, namely to avert Ron's fate as a Snape snack, she had nonetheless assaulted a teacher. And considering their current species, in a very inappropriate manner. She did not really wish to examine her motives behind choosing that particular strategy of attack, and could only imagine what his response to that and the fiasco in the dungeons will be. That final part was not entirely her fault. She had made her protestations very clear from the beginning. Even so, she had a feeling that Gryffindor would be so far in the negative after they got out of here that no amount of last minute bonus points Dumbledore gave them would overcome the deficit. For several years, even.  
  
After another half-minute, Snape had gone ominously silent. When he spoke, his voice was low and smooth, the growling behind it a malevolent purr, with an occasional edge of sharpness in his words betraying his anger.  
  
Sufficient punishment may not exist for the severity of your misconduct. Nevertheless-  
  
But sir-  
  
Quiet, Granger! I will take great satisfaction in petitioning for the expulsion of all three of you. For now, twenty points each for breaking curfew, fifty points apiece for attacking a professor-  
  
Bollocks. She had to swipe at the nearest dead husk of a tree with her tail to prevent a repeat performance of that infraction.  
  
-an extra fifty for your last stunt, Ms. Granger, seventy-five each for general incompetence and stupidity-  
  
Her claws ground a death hold into the rock beneath her.  
  
-two hundred points each for possibly permanent injury to a teacher-  
  
She flexed her wings with a low growl. He wasn't the only one turned into a bloody dragon. In fact, most would look on it as an improvement, as he was much less greasy in this form-  
  
-and one hundred points for every minute from now until I find a way out of this.  
  
Bloody infuriating git. He was probably enjoying this.  
  
Any objections, Ms. Granger? His normal sneer was even more annoying with an overabundance of teeth visible.  
  
No. Piss off, you self-righteous pile of shite. Sir.  
  
"What do you suppose they're talking about, Harry?"  
  
"Hopefully they've decided to rip you in half and roast you on a spit, Weaselboy."  
  
Ron? Harry?  
  
"Looks like 'Mione's trying to say something to us."  
  
You two had better not be fooling around. I swear, Harry, if this is a joke-  
  
Do you enjoy listening to yourself blather away, or do you lack the capacity to consider the slight possibility that your otherwise impressively talented companions may not be able to understand "Dragon?"  
  
His wings were folded smugly at his back as he regarded her, toothy smirk firmly in place.  
  
How fortunate for me to be the only audience to your always scintillating one-sided conversation. I have long awaited this wonderful opportunity, but never truly hoped it would come to pass. I am... grateful for this sudden change in circumstances.  
  
She snapped when he raised one spiky eyebrow.  
  
Blow me, you sanctimonious arsewipe! As if it was my dying wish to be blessed with your contumelious presence!  
  
Ms. Granger! I'm warning you-  
  
With what implement of my destruction, exactly? According to you, I'm already expelled-  
  
Ms. Granger-  
  
His interjection consisted mostly of a growl, and she noticed that his posture was slightly less relaxed than it had been before her rebellion. His wings flexed as he brought his head down, and his tail began to twitch threateningly.  
  
-which is not a spectacular show of foresight on your part, is it? Why would I care about House points after that?  
  
She shifted her weight forward, adopting the stance of a bull readying for toreador destruction.  
  
Granger! Kindly shut that flapping beak of yours before-  
  
He had gone back down on all fours, mimicking her offensive position.  
  
Before you do what, Snape? Try to eat Ron again?  
  
If Ron and Harry could have understood their discussion, they might have warned Snape that Hermione's deliberate action of dropping the honorific "professor" from in front of his name was rare indeed, and indication that she was well and truly furious. As it was, he lacked their expert advice, and was probably too far gone in his own ire to take heed of it anyway. Flames punctuated his every word in a manner that would have been funny, under other circumstances.  
  
You will address me by my title, Ms. Granger!  
  
Not until I find some worthiness of respect in your behavior, which is bloody childish-  
  
Snape, probably in order to avoid a repeat of her sneak attack that started their last battle, launched himself toward her first. Hermione was ready, however, and twisted to the side enough to absorb his attack while using his momentum against him to prevent him pinning her. They rolled, a flurry of teeth and claws, as she tried to take to the air and he did all in his power to stop her. Neither took any notice of their surroundings until Snape was struck in the eye by a snowball. He howled in pain and fury and disentangled himself from Hermione to search for the perpetrator with the intent of ripping him limb from limb. Neither had noticed the fast coming of nightfall, nor that the snowstorm had grown steadily worse. The wind blew the heavy snowfall into a white wall that obscured vision beyond five feet. The projectile that had injured Snape must have been an extraordinarily lucky throw.  
  
"Professor! Hermione!"  
  
The shouts were almost drowned out by the howling wind, but both dragons were able to follow them and landed next to the huddled boys. All three were practically frozen, their robes little help against the cold without warming charms. In a temporary (and unspoken) truce, the dragons curled protectively around the three, forming a shelter of warm blocking the wind and snow.  
  
Do you think we should wait until morning to move anywhere?  
  
Hermione was relieved to see color returning to Harry, Ron, and, Gods forbid, Draco's skin as they passed into the care of Morpheus.  
  
That would seem to be the only option at the moment, Ms. Granger.  
  
Surprisingly, his voice lacked most of its usual malice, most of his attention focused on ensuring Draco's safety. He tucked the young Slytherin to his side with more compassion than Hermione ever thought possible, even gently ruffling the boy's mussed blond hair in the process.  
  
Sir, if you don't mind me asking, do you know where we are? Or how this happened?  
  
He sighed, melting the snow in front of him.  
  
I am never free of your questions, am I? I have no clue where we are specifically, but I would guess that this is a twisted product of Potter's mind. I do not know what deal he brokered with that infernal globe.  
  
What?  
  
Gods be praised, something the everlasting Know-It-All hasn't read about? Your idiot friend activated a... modified... puzzle ball. We will be trapped in it until we solve whatever tasks it has given us.  
  
But what-  
  
I would appreciate it greatly if you could save the rest of your interrogation for what passes as morning, Ms. Granger. It pains me, but I promise to answer all of your questions then.  
  
Alright. Goodnight, sir.  
  
Goodnight.   
  
Sir, would you please keep your tail to yourself?  
  
I've no idea what you're talking about, Ms. Granger. Goodnight.  
  
Hope you liked it. I am working on the next part, but my inspiration seems to have run away. Reward of points to your respective house if you find it. Thanks. 


End file.
